Eleanor Bourg Nicholson’s novel, Brother Wolf, is the second in a series I’m dubbing “The Father Edmund Collection.” Fr. Edmund Thomas Gilroy, though a secondary character in both novels, plays a pivotal part in instructing and combating the forces of evil threatening the Church and the world. In A Bloody Habit, he and others fought off vampires. In this offering, he’s central in the battle against werewolves.
Athene Howard is an adult assistant to her scholarly father, Charles. On the trip from America to France, she overhears an unnerving conversation and repeats it to her indifferent padre. It’s only when Athene accidentally stabs her father that her paternal parent becomes interested in the adventures of Sister Agatha, Sir Simon Gwynne, and a mysterious novice nun named Isabel. Athene isn’t sure of the reason, but she and her father join this excursion to reunite Isabel with her brother, Jean-Claude. When they arrive at a deserted town with only a troubadour, the monsters start appearing.
A strength of this novel interleaves Catholic doctrine, mythology, and superstition into a believable narrative. Yes, Catholic monks are werewolves. While the premise is absurd, the reasoning behind it grounds the novel and makes it frightening. Without spoiling it too much, werewolves are only the start of what our band of heroes must fight.
This is a creepy novel with a no-holds-barred approach to horror. Brother Wolf has a Catholic publisher, but the writer and staff are dedicated to giving the reader a worthwhile supernatural horror offering. The plot can become violent, certain scenes are disturbing, and the threat is real. The lead character fighting the opposition is Father Thomas Edmund Gilroy, who doesn’t appear for the first ten chapters. He embraces the principles of Christianity (particularly the Catholic faith) to fight against the darkness. He’s a delightful character that can only be described as a cross between Chesterton’s Fr. Brown and television’s Carl Kolchak.
The novel clips along at a good pace and the world-building is exquisite. The language Nicholson uses fits the period nicely. Have a dictionary ready. Athene herself was a bit of a puzzle for me. She’s a non-traditional heroine (points for that) but also somewhat obtuse. Characters kept saying she was important and placing her in critical roles, but it was hard to understand why. She plays a key part in the penultimate climax, which is a highlight of the book, but less of a part in the actual climax.
Brother Wolf is a solid second in the series even if it doesn’t reach the highs of the first novel. It is a captivating read for werewolf fans who don’t want their lycanthropes in love triangles. These werewolves are brutal and vicious but not irredeemable.